I’ve long recommended that Microsoft should release its own Android handsets. But you don’t need to wait for that to happen: All the pieces are in place right now if you want to Redmondize your own phone.
I’ve written about this topic in the past, for sure. Many times, in fact. But when Microsoft revealed over two years ago that it was surrendering the smartphone market to Android and iOS, I started investigating which platform would make the most sense to Microsoft’s fans.
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The answer was obvious: Despite several big advantages for the iPhone—reliable performance over time, a more consistent user experience, higher-quality app and content stores, and battery life—it was clear that Android is the right choice. Android has several advantages over iOS and the iPhone, of course, among them superior cameras, more innovative form factors, and quicker access to new technologies. But the biggest advantage is that the platform is open.
That last advantage has several ramifications. But from the perspective of a Microsoft fan, it means that Android—like Windows—is infinitely malleable, something that can be customized and personalized to any degree you wish. And it means the same to Microsoft, which can turn a stock Android handset (or tablet) into something completely different: A Microsoft-focused device that can still run the world’s largest app collection. It’s a win-win if you care about this kind of thing.
But times moves ever on. And in the past few years, there have been a few major changes to Microsoft’s personal computing strategy, each of which benefits those running Android on their phones.
For example, Microsoft has brought Cortana to both Android and iOS, but only on Android can you actually replace Google Assistant with Microsoft’s technology. Microsoft is bringing Microsoft Edge and other “pick up where you left off” technologies to both Android and iOS, but only on Android will you get the full stack of capabilities. And of course, Microsoft makes its own Android home screen, now called Microsoft Launcher, and its own lock screen replacements, exclusively on Android.
In the coming weeks, I will continue investigating each of the ways in which you can customize your Android handset with Microsoft capabilities via new articles in my Android for the Windows Guy series. And to be clear, I don’t think that a blanket Redmondization of your phone necessarily makes sense: You should look at what’s available and pick and choose according to your needs and tastes. But here’s a quick rundown of some of the possibilities.
Home screen. You can replace your Android home screen—called the launcher—with Microsoft’s people-centric launcher, called Microsoft Launcher Preview. It’s a great update to what used to be a Garage project called Arrow Launcher, and it’s always been first-rate.
Lock screen. Microsoft makes a few lock screen replacements for Android, including Next Lock Screen, which includes a great Bing Wallpaper of the Day option.
Digital personal assistant. You can replace Google Assistant with Cortana on my Android handsets. (I’m not sure about the newer Samsung devices.)
Keyboard. You can replace Google Keyboard with Microsoft’s SwiftKey keyboard, which provides nice customization features with a wide range of free themes, Flow swipe-to-type functionality, and more.
Cloud photo backup. You should always backup your phone-based photos to two or more cloud services. And while I feel very strongly that one of them should be Google Photos, the other should be OneDrive.
Pick up where you left off. If you use Windows 10 on your PC, there are a few Microsoft solutions you should get for your phone, each of which offers interesting “pick up where you left off”-type functionality: Cortana, mentioned above, Microsoft Edge (Preview), and Continue on PC (which is installed with Cortana).
Account sign-ins. The Microsoft Authenticator app can be used for 2FA sign-ins, meaning you’ll (almost) never need to type in your Microsoft Account (MSA) password again. It works with other account types, too, of course.
Productivity apps. It almost goes without saying, but all of the core Microsoft Office apps—Outlook, Word, Excel, PowerPoint, and OneNote—are available on Android, alongside newer offerings like Microsoft To-Do, Planner, Skype, Skype for Business, and others.
Games. Xbox, Xbox (Beta) and Mixer Create are all available on Android, as are a handful of Microsoft games, like Minecraft, Solitaire, and Age of Empires: Castle Siege.
Make your smartphone smarter. Microsoft’s incredible Office Lens app is a must-have on any smartphone.
So, a lot of stuff to explore there.
Stooks
<blockquote><a href="#207646"><em>In reply to codekoenig:</em></a></blockquote><p>Because of the Outlook app security issues we can't use it for work. I have moved my personal email/contacts from Outlook.com back to Gmail because of all of the crazy contact sync problems. </p><p><br></p><p>You still cant sync contact photos, phone/text ringtones with Outlook.com, nor can you separate Skype Contacts which add weird stuff like "live:389t21968n90725a8710" to my contacts which I think comes from contacts that have Skype as well.</p><p><br></p><p>I use Office 365 for OneDrive and the mobile MS apps to properly open the files on OneDrive and everything else is Google.</p>
Stooks
<blockquote><a href="#207654"><em>In reply to dhallman:</em></a></blockquote><p>"and consider a Chromebook"</p><p><br></p><p>I 100% agree with you until the Chromebook part. Maybe some people can go that route but my experience with them feels way too limiting. </p><p><br></p><p>Once you do start using the Google software in many cases I could move to it over the Microsoft software easily. However Visio and Onenote for me have no alternatives. </p>
Stooks
<blockquote><a href="#207780"><em>In reply to dhallman:</em></a></blockquote><p>I used to use Evernote because is was all the rage and honestly is was on all platforms and Onenote was only on Windows. Then Microsoft rolled it out to all platforms, Windows, Mac, iOS and Android. Also Evernote got rid of their free version which also sucked because it had ad's.</p><p><br></p><p>Evernote is seriously declined in popularity.</p>
Bats
<p>A couple of points, I think Paul has failed to mention.</p><p><br></p><p>In order to get the max user-experience on your new Android/Microsoft smartphone, it's best if you a Pixel, (old) Nexus, or Motorola phone….or any Android smartphone that provides the pure Android experience. Any other phone, like a Samsung, LG, or OnePlus will have any of the Microsoft apps running in the background "tango" with those phone makers overlay of Android. For example, if you buy a Samsung Galaxy phone, the phone "Touch Wiz" UI will be an app that will always run in the background. If a person installs and uses Microsoft Launcher, it will work, but Touchwiz will still run in the background.</p><p><br></p><p>Quite frankly, if you ask me….no one needs the Microsoft Launcher. I tested it out this weekend, and it's basically the Microsoft version of the Pixel Launcher. I personally have had a bad experience with the Arrow Launcher and added that the my ever-growing list of things Paul Thurrott got wrong. Readers of Paul know that he has highly endorsed the Arrow launcher. Based on his recommendation and my curiosity, I used it on my phone for a week. Paul called it the best Android launcher, but it was definitely the worst. The launcher drained my Galaxy Note 4 battery. I even tried Arrow Launcher on my Note 4 with a different ROM, as in removing Samsung Touchwiz for a more Nexus-like experience. It was still horrible. Anyway, I am assuming the new Microsoft Launcher is better and improved. However, I am not recommending the use of that Launcher, especially if the features of that launcher is the same as Android's. </p><p><br></p><p>Please keep in mind that Paul is an Android Noob, and really doesn't know how Android works. For example….Paul has been talking about how Microsoft/Arrow Launcher gives the ability for users to add a contacts face to the Home Screen, so all the he or she needed to do was press the icon. LOL…duh….there is a Android widget for that. As a matter of fact, I use it all the time. It's in the widget section under Contacts. With the widget-shortcut, you can direct dial, direct message, or have the contact on your homescreen and have all that persons contact information available to you with a click of a button. LOL…when I heard Paul mention this functionality as an Arrow Launcher feature, I was like ….huh? Believe, I am not the only one. I mentioned this in the Android Central Messageboards, and those guys were dumbfounded too. LOL…boy, you should read the thread about the "performance consistency." That got Jerry scratching his head and other users thinking Paul probably downloaded a bad app.</p><p><br></p>
Stooks
<blockquote><a href="#207664"><em>In reply to Bats:</em></a></blockquote><p>"it will work, but Touchwiz will still run in the background."</p><p><br></p><p>I have read this before. However so what? </p><p><br></p><p>I have a Samsung Tab S3 2017 9.7inch tablet. It has Touchwiz. I installed the Google Now launcher. I never see anything Touchwiz so if it is running what is it doing?</p><p><br></p><p>Before I installed the Google Now launcher I pretty much shut down anything Samsung/Touchwiz anyhow, like that news app when you swipe to the right or notifications from Samsung apps that I will never use.</p><p><br></p><p>I do use the Samsung browser because it is Chrome with ad blocker support!</p><p><br></p><p>I do agree with you, the Arrow Launcher is way too busy and not needed. The only thing I liked was the wallpaper changing app. Bing search is still not as good as Google.</p>
Stooks
<blockquote><a href="#207721"><em>In reply to david.thunderbird:</em></a></blockquote><p>But it is not running or doing anything. I see ZERO difference in battery life using the Google Now launcher.</p>
Stooks
<blockquote><a href="#207678"><em>In reply to RonH:</em></a></blockquote><p>"I can't get my People/Contact pictures to sync from MS Outlook/People"</p><p><br></p><p>I have an Outlook, Gmail and iCloud accounts. Email is forwarded to one of the three from the other two. If I move to another as the primary I adjust the forwarding.</p><p><br></p><p>I tried to use Outlook as "the one" but just recently moved back to Gmail. The contacts issue is what finally killed it for me. Pictures and ring tones for both phone calls and texts per contact do NOT sync. This has been an issue for a long, long time now. Just Google it and you will get lots of hits.</p><p><br></p><p>Also if you have contacts that also have Skype accounts then it will merge/inject that Skype Contact info into your Outlook contacts. There is NO way to turn this off right now. So some of my contacts, like my son has this "live:389t21968n90725a8710" added to his Outlook contact and I can't turn it off. Sometimes on both my iPhone and Android phone it will actually replace his name and so I get a phone call and it is from "live:389t21968n90725a8710". A reboot of the phone or modifying any contact on Outlook which forces a sync will fix it, as in his name becomes the primary for his contact.</p><p><br></p><p>Anyhow Gmail contacts sync's pictures and ring tones all without any Skype krap. It also syncs changes way faster than Outlook or iCloud.</p>
Stooks
<blockquote><a href="#207793"><em>In reply to cayo:</em></a></blockquote><p>And you sound like a Microsoft fan. This comment gives it away…</p><p><br></p><p>" This gives you a chance to keep the crippled version of your pics on Google Drive for free and send the original version to OneDrive"</p><p><br></p><p>Crippled? How so? Oh you mean if you pick the High Quality version? It defaults to the full image size version so you have to CHOOSE the other option. </p><p><br></p><p>Even if you pick the high quality version it does not down sample unless it is over 16 megapixel. Both my older EOS DSLR and my current phone only have 12megapixel camera's. No down sampling here. If I buy a Pixel then the full image size is free. How is it crippled again?</p><p><br></p><p>I back up to both. I have a Office 365 sub because I use Microsoft documents for work reasons. If I did not have that requirement I would dump Office 365 yesterday as I am fine with Google Doc's/Drive/Photos.</p><p><br></p><p>Of the two Photo options Google Photos > OneDrive photos 8 days a week. </p>
Stooks
<blockquote><a href="#207806"><em>In reply to Rob_Wade:</em></a></blockquote><p>People really hate things like Tech companies and operating systems???? Whatever does the job best for me at a reasonable price is the way I roll.</p><p><br></p><p>I use products from all of the big tech companies. I have a Macbook, multiple Windows machines. I have a iPad and a Samsung Tablet. I have both a Android phone (personal) and a iPhone (work provided). I use Gmail for email, Chrome, Youtube, Photos. I have used Google Doc's many times as so many aspects of my life, work, kids schools, church, kids sports use Google Doc's for many reasons. I use MS Office products and have a Office 365 Home sub. I sub to Amazon Music Unlimited. I have an Xbox One S and PS4, with a Xbox One X pre-ordered. I have a Chromecast and a Apple TV. We have an full size Echo as well. I subscribe to Netflix, Hulu, HBO and Amazon Prime. I have hundreds of Amazon Kindle books and some Google Play books, even a few iBooks.</p><p><br></p><p>Sticking to one company for brand loyalty (???) is crazy and weird to be honest.</p>
Bats
<blockquote><a href="#207689"><em>In reply to Nicholas_Kathrein:</em></a></blockquote><p>Well, you have to accept the fact that Microsoft fans, don't like to have good stuff. (lol)</p>